IDOLATRY

Idolatry is worship granted to gods other than Jehovah; by means of images and practices taken from strange and forbidden cults.

Idolatry does not consist solely of bowing in front of an image, but also when worshiping is done using images to adore false gods rather then the real God.

Jehovah strictly forbids these practices.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Exodus 20:3-6

The sin in which we are more endangered to fall related to this commandment is to give glory, honor, affection and interest to other creatures or false gods instead of giving this to God.

Pride makes of “I” a god; avarice makes money a god; sensuality makes the human body a god; we are making a god of whatever thing that we like or love, fear or serve, enjoy or depend on, more than God Himself.

What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?

Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

Habacuc 2:18-20

We see in these verses the total uselessness of the idols; they are useless, they are not useful for anything, they are dead things without life.

In contrast to these false gods covered with gold and silver but dead, is the true and living God who sees and controls everything. He is not hidden under gold or silver, but He in His holy temple in heaven, ready to help and save. Before Him, every man and nation, must keep quiet, or in other words wait for Him to do the talk, submitting all people in silence to his righteous judgments .

Characteristics of the idols

UNRESPONSIVE:

They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

Psalm 115:5-7

PERISHABLE:

He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

Isaiah 40:20

HELPLESS:

Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

Isaiah 45:20

They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

Jeremiah 10:5

UNWORTHY OF WORSHIP:

Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

Acts 17:29

When sacrifices are being made to worship idols, what really is being done, is a worship to demons, because behind every idol is hiding a demon.

What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

1 Corinthians 10:19-20

They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

Deuteronomy 32:17

Our worship service should be governed by the power of faith, not by the power of imagination, because God is infinite Spirit.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

John 4:24

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.

Psalm 95:6

Sister M. Portela